Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Posted by Don Miller on Mar 17th, 2026

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Argus raised Cisco Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. President Capital cut their price objective on shares of Cisco Systems from $90.00 to $88.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Evercore upgraded shares of Cisco Systems from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $80.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, January 26th. Citic Securities raised their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.55.

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Cisco Systems Stock Performance

Shares of CSCO opened at $78.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.87. Cisco Systems has a 52 week low of $52.11 and a 52 week high of $88.18.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The network equipment provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $15.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.11 billion. Cisco Systems had a return on equity of 27.88% and a net margin of 19.22%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Cisco Systems will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cisco Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Cisco Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Cisco Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.54%.

Insider Activity at Cisco Systems

In related news, EVP Thimaya K. Subaiya sold 1,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.07, for a total transaction of $134,410.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 156,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,076,329.51. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael D. Capellas sold 10,850 shares of Cisco Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.13, for a total transaction of $836,860.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 146,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,289,363.84. This represents a 6.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,799 shares of company stock worth $5,815,306. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Cisco Systems in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Cisco Systems by 531.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Cisco Systems during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 73.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Cisco Systems

Here are the key news stories impacting Cisco Systems this week:

Positive Sentiment: Cisco expanded its Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA to run AI securely from central data centers to local edge sites, shortening deployment timelines and offering partner reference architectures (strengthens Cisco’s AI/security positioning and partner-led revenue opportunities). Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA Makes AI Easier to Deploy and Secure, Anywhere Organizations Need It
Positive Sentiment: Cisco moved to the top position in Wi‑Fi 7 revenue share, gaining adoption via aggressive pricing and fast customer ramp — a boost to networking product growth and upgrade cycles. Cisco Wi Fi 7 Lead Reframes Growth And Margin Trade Offs
Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results (Feb. 11) showed an EPS beat and ~9.7% revenue growth year-over-year, underpinning valuation and investor confidence in recurring enterprise demand.
Neutral Sentiment: NVIDIA’s new Vera CPU and agent tooling accelerate the AI hardware/software ecosystem; this can increase demand for high‑performance networking and security but is an indirect, medium-term tailwind for Cisco. NVIDIA Launches Vera CPU, Purpose-Built for Agentic AI
Neutral Sentiment: Third-party AI tooling (Aible’s SafeClaw) and broader agent/AI developments grow the market for governed AI deployments — positive for infrastructure demand but not an immediate Cisco-specific catalyst. Aible Launches SafeClaw Long-Running Agents and Presents at Eight Partner Booths and Sessions at NVIDIA GTC 2026
Negative Sentiment: An institutional investor (Allium Financial Advisors) trimmed its CSCO stake, a small sell signal that could modestly weigh on near-term sentiment. Allium Financial Advisors LLC Sells 6,925 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO
Negative Sentiment: Opinion pieces reminding investors of Cisco’s dot‑com era volatility can damp investor appetite for aggressive multiple expansion, adding a cautionary tone to otherwise positive operational news. 1 Growth Stock Set to Flourish and 2 We Avoid

About Cisco Systems

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Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that designs, manufactures and sells networking hardware, software and telecommunications equipment. Its core business focuses on enabling enterprise and service-provider networks through products such as routers, switches, network security appliances and wireless systems. Over time Cisco has broadened its portfolio to emphasize software-defined networking, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and edge computing solutions that help organizations build and manage modern IT environments.

In addition to hardware, Cisco offers a growing range of software platforms and subscription services for network management, security, analytics and collaboration.